S&C Chief Product Development Officer Joe Matamoros on Building the Future Grid

In a recent interview with Pulse 2.0, S&C’s Chief Product Development Officer Joe Matamoros shared how the company continues to lead the transformation of the distribution grid and what keeps his team inspired to innovate.

A Career Built on Purposeful Innovation

With over twenty years of experience in power engineering, product development, and operations, Matamoros joined S&C inspired by the company’s customer-first approach and longstanding dedication to innovation. “We’ve created several new products for our customers, not just enhancements,” he explained. “Our focus is on solving real-world grid challenges through collaboration and intelligent design.”

From his office at S&C’s Chicago headquarters—home to the renowned Nicholas J. Conrad Laboratories, one of the most advanced electrical testing facilities in North America—Matamoros leads teams that develop the technologies shaping the modern grid.

Engineering Resilience into Every Solution

Matamoros highlighted that S&C’s corporate purpose centers on transforming the grid. As energy dependence, demand, and extreme weather increase, he pointed out that resilience at the distribution level has become more vital than ever. “By building products that make power more resilient and reliable,” he said, “we improve the quality of life for millions of people.”

That purpose continues a legacy of innovation that began in 1911 with the invention of the Liquid Power Fuse and lives on in products such as the EdgeRestore® Underground Distribution Restoration System, TripSaver® II Cutout-Mounted Recloser, and IntelliRupter® PulseCloser® Fault Interrupter—technologies that combine precision engineering with intelligent automation.

Collaboration That Strengthens the Grid

Matamoros explained how S&C is reshaping industry collaborations. Once recognized for being highly vertically integrated, the company is now adopting interoperability and strategic partnerships with firms like Gridware and Ubicquia. These alliances allow for new bundled solutions that combine artificial intelligence and smart-grid analytics to help utilities and communities function more reliably.

He also highlighted success stories like Florida Power & Light, which has deployed tens of thousands of S&C smart-grid devices to reduce outages and improve system resilience across the state.

A Vision for the Grid of Tomorrow

Looking ahead, Matamoros envisions a future based on reinvention rather than replacement. “We can’t rebuild the grid every few years,” he said. “We need to make the existing trillion-dollar infrastructure work better.” By integrating automation, communication, and distributed intelligence into today’s systems, S&C is helping utilities ensure an outage-free future—one built on industry-wide collaboration.

Our customers don’t compete with each other; they collaborate for the betterment of the whole industry. Together, we’re working toward a safer, more secure, and more resilient grid.

Read the Full Interview

To explore the full conversation with Joe Matamoros, visit Pulse 2.0 for the complete article: “S&C Electric Company: Interview With Chief Product Development Officer Joe Matamoros.”